I work in very conservative northern Indiana. I am a salesperson for a large musical company. I have recently had many customers (some from Texas, even) get political on phone calls with me. Usually anti-chimp. One elderly customer from Houston excused himself for making a negative reference to our theifmander-in-chief, and I told him not to worry, I was right there with him. I increasingly see this with my regular customers, who are usually well-to-do people who used to make Clinton jokes. I really, really don't look at polls anymore. Even the clueless people in my neighborhood are vocal about their dislike of the way things are going. It's all about media manipulation, nothing more. I don't have to feel like a nut anymore when I give them the goods on this misadministration. And I never shut up about it.

...the same people who used to constantly tell Clinton/BJ jokes, seem to have lost whatever sense of humor they had. It's almost a bumper sticker; THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION...IT JUST ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE.

We have one guy at work who is a major Republican fundraiser and used to trumpet the success(?) of the Bush cartel to anyone within listening distance. I used to go head to head with him all the time. He won't even look me in the eye anymore. . . lol. I would love to hear what he has to say for himself these days. But he has this hang-dog look every time I see him. And always seems to be going to the bathroom.

Don't let the a-holes get you down, daligirrl! If this guy gets waaaay out of line (i.e. does anything you feel is "hostile"), feel free to talk to an attorney. This man represents a dying breed. One of the reasons I'm in law school right now is because of the way I saw white republican managaers who'd moved up here from TX treat a woman from Kenya who worked in our office.

They're scared of me because I can debate them. I don't hold back. I'm usually the one who starts stuff if I hear them talking shit. They really got upset when I sent them the links about the upcoming draft. These people are cowards through and through. The one great thing about all of this is that they don't send me those stupid r-wing emails anymore. They can't back them up.

is that he is getting a demotion because the company bosses have decided to have fewer "middle management" types. He has to come down to Hell with the rest of us. No one deserves it as much as he does.

Another thing. . . today in a convenience store, I was in a line of people getting gas. The woman at the counter was using change to get her $36.78 worth of gas. She was really apologetic about it (because she was counting out quarters) and she said she is sooooooooooooo sorry about the fact that her husband bought the SUV because obviously we're being robbed. She was really pissed off. The woman behind me was laughing and said that things were only going to get worse, and we needed to stand up and get things going the right way for people who don't make a lot of money. She said she had to spend way too much on groceries to have to pay that much for gas.

that the polls are manipulated. I have never believed that most people are happy about anything that is going on. Polls need to be ignored. . . at least by the most informed of us. The true challenge is getting the info out to Ma and Pa America. I do it every chance I get, and some of the response is very positive. I see more and more bumper stickers against Bush here, and, believe me, I can't tell you how many Bush/Cheyner bumper stickers we used to have here. I don't know what the neo-cons have in store for us, but I do know that the poll numbers are not what they claim them to be.

I have many concerns about that issue, but my basic gist is that we can be motivated by the fact that the the polls are not honest. I see a lot of moaning and groaning about the polls. Every the chimp gets a boost, I see people gettig nervous.

manipulate the voting machines, the polls, the energy "commission", it shows they will go to any lengths to get what they want. And I have never said this before on DU but I still question the accident of Paul Wellstone and I don't even have on my tinfoil hat. That has bothered me ever since it happened.

It's all there up front for you to see. History tells us that there will be evil rulers until the end of time. And it can happen, even in the good ole USA. There always have been and always will be. But there are always the forces of good to combat them. This is the nature of life. (Okay, I'm a Star Wars nerd.) But it's very simple. . .stay informed. Keep others informed. I know that's not very helpful if you're afraid for yourself, but there is always hope. The worst thing is not fighting for what's right.

You are correct. . . our Government was overthrown. And when people start to realize it (as they are now) there will be hell to pay. The media has allowed us to think that we are living in the "Barbie Dreamhouse" but we'll soon be in a roach hotel. LOL

I am amazed at how many people I thought were die-hard Repukes are anti Bush. Some are saying they are going to sit out the election others are coming over to our side. I think we have a real chance to win Tennessee this year.

I am originally from Nashville. Despite what people think about the South, some areas of Tennessee are very progressive. My mother tells me all the time about people who are disgusted with the squatter and voting for Kerry.

That's the button I wear on my "purse" strapped across my chest. I get a lot of laughs and positive comments about it. A couple of days ago, I was at my son's school and someone noticed the button, laughed and said, "I love your button: Anybody But Bush." The very Republican school director said, "Yes, anybody but the other guy!" The first woman said, "Yeah, it would be nice if we had other candidates to choose from." I replied (pointedly at the Repub.), "Well, we don't. We only have TWO choices this year!"

My point is that my actual experience (especially where I live) is so different from what the "polls" seem to show. I don't discount the fact that these nuts are manipulating things. But, I hate it sometimes when I see people get upset about a poll with Mr. Pretzel ahead. No freaking way. We have to let everyone that we can know that we feel just the way that they do. . . there are so many people still in that "We can't criticize the Government" mode that sometimes we don't reach out.

"I had a birthday yesterday and that could be it (59) but I think it's this on going shit at w**k and getting more and more pissed at Bush and his cronies fucking me over....this new "overtime" rule is gonna bite me in the ass hard with his "new" LOWER salary requirment's , now down to $23,000 or above......"

It's amazing to me from the regular people that I talk to how much transformation has happened. They bring up these same issues all the time. I was, at one point, very discouraged about things. But the turning point seems to have been the mess in Iraq. After that, people seem to start questioning how their lives are going. And it all seems to lead up to a big, negative number. It's time for Progressives to capitalize on this wave of disappointment and disallusionment.

What's weird about my neighborhood is that they vote Democatric locally and Republican nationally. I have asked a couple of people about it and the answer is always very confusing: we vote locally to keep our schools safe, etc., but vote nationally for a strong leader (especially after 9-11). Crazy.

But the truth is, Kerry's actually ahead in them. There's only been a few polls that show Shrub ahead. The majority of them show a lead for Kerry. Also worth noting is that the challenger almost always gets the bulk of the undecided vote. Zogby, the nation's most reliable polling organization, shows Kerry up by three with 7 percent undecided. So cheer up people, things are lookin' pretty good. And don't bother flaming me with how we can't become complacent and blah, blah, blah. I know we can't, which is why I'm volunteering for the Kerry campaign. I'm just saying we don't have to feel gloom and doom all the time.

And if you need any evidence that the polls are biased, just look at the fact that in many of them Nader pulls, 6, 7, sometimes even nine percent. Give me a break! Nader didn't even get three percent in the election last time, and he'll be lucky if he gets half that this time around. Trust Zogby. I wouldn't pay any attention to the other ones. Kerry's gonna win this, I'm becoming more certain of that every day.

I called the cable company to get the high sped cable internet. Mohamed,the sales guy, informed me that for short term,business use the installation charge is $250.(!!!) However, he let us get the installation for only $100 because he doesn't like * and we are the county Democratic Party. Cool dmk

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